The Wall Street Trader's Coach Gets a Workout

Traders are the tough guys on Wall Street, enduring grueling sessions on stock-exchange floors, juggling demanding clients and watching millions of dollars move with every little swing of the market. But, sometimes, even tough guys get the blues.

When that happens, stressed-out traders call Dr. Ari Kiev, a psychiatrist who has specialized in working with Wall Street professionals since the early 1990s. Kiev, the author of a handful of investment-related books including
Mastering Trading Stress: Strategies for Maximizing Performance, helps traders understand how their mental well-being affects their job performance. And his advice isn't reserved for the Wall Street set: It offers useful lessons for individual investors struggling to cope with the market's vagaries.

Finding ways to handle those pressures has become increasingly important these days, when the prevailing mood on Wall Street is downright grim. "There is a sense of despair and frustration," he says.

Tips for the Traders

Kiev says many traders aren't thinking rationally and are too focused on short-term results. That means when the market goes down, traders are trying to figure out how to recoup those losses immediately. What's more, jobs are disappearing as
hedge funds continue to hemorrhage money and the investment banking industry remains shaky. "They're concerned about whether they're going to have a job at the end of the day," says Kiev. "It creates a certain amount of insecurity. They've lost confidence as well as money."

So how can Wall Street Tough Guys turn it around after the recent ups and downs in the market? Kiev advises traders to take a step back and re-evaluate how they handle stressful or difficult situations. The insecurities caused by the down market means traders may be more cautious, for example, leading to a dangerous deviation from their usual strategies. For example, know what you'll do -- or, more important, what you won't do -- if one of your holdings tumbles 20% in morning trading. "You've got to detach yourself from your emotional response to what's happening," he says. "Practice various ways you'll handle different scenarios, then allow yourself to trust your instincts."